The present invention relates to ground working implements, and more particularly to power-driven rotary ground working implements comprising a ground working unit which is driven about a horizontal axis to act on the soil.
Such ground working implements include power-driven cultivating implements which are attached to and drawn by tractors or like vehicles and which are widely used for tilling and breaking up the soil at the same time.
The cultivating implement is generally equipped with a gauge device to set the implement for a specified depth of working and also to support part of the implement. The gauge device comprises a pair of opposite gauge wheels which is usually disposed to the front or rear of the rotary tiller unit of the implement.
Gauge devices of the type stated above, although useful, involve a common problem because they are adapted, strictly speaking, for line contact with the ground; the wheels are liable to sink into the ground greatly and encounter great resistance against rolling, especially on a marshy or sandy field.
To overcome the above problem, a ground engageable stabilizer has been proposed and placed into use which comprises a pair of skids adapted to be positioned on opposite sides of the rotary tiller unit in place of the gauge wheels.
The ground contacting member of the known stabilizer is in the form of a circular arc and is curved upward toward the front and rear longitudinally thereof so as to be slidable on the field, so that when the working implement is detached from the connector, such as three-point link, on the power vehicle, the implement will fall forward or backward under gravity. The implement will then be very cumbersome to reconnect and require heavy labor and may possibly be damaged. Further if the hydraulic control unit incorporated in the tractor is operated for the position control of the rotary cultivating implement when the implement is used as attached to the tractor, the implement substantially need not be equipped with the gauge device or stabilizer, but even in such a case, the implement is still liable to fall down.
To eliminate this drawback, there is the need to provide a stand or some suitable support means for the implement, whereas such means renders the implement bulky, costly, and cumbersome and hazardous to handle because the stand or like support must be used with proper timing.
The rotary tiller unit, one of the power-driven rotary working implements, is usally provided with a cover assembly including a cover which serves to smooth and level the soil in contact therewith. However conventional cover assemblies leave a groove or furrow in the levelled surface of the soil and consequently renders the soil unfit for sowing. The cover assembly further includes a movable cover which is pivoted to the frame of the unit and suspended by a chain or the like, whereas the suspender or other members associated therewith are liable to deformation or damage when the cover is subjected to impact.